FOREIGN AFFAIRS—INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

Senator Ludlam, pursuant to notice of motion not objected to as a formal motion, moved general business notice of motion no. 182—That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on 7 September 2001, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 55/282 declaring that the International Day of Peace should be observed annually on the fixed date of 21 September, as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, and

(ii) the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his predecessor, Kofi Annan, have urged member states to support the observance of global ceasefire on the day;

(b) supports non-government organisations in Australia who intend to observe the day through vigils, concerts and walks;

(c) calls on the Australian Government to actively support the observance of a ceasefire in Iraq, East Timor, Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands, Egypt (the Sinai Peninsula) and Sudan on Sunday, 21 September 2008, by ensuring that Australia's armed forces:

(i) do not engage in hostilities for the duration of 21 September, unless provoked to do so in self-defence, and

(ii) promote the observance of a global ceasefire for the duration of 21 September; and

(d) requests that the Australian Government encourage other nation states also to support the observance of a global ceasefire.